The Columbian stories: Strictly Businesshttp://www.columbian.com/news/business/strictly-business/The Columbian stories: Strictly Businessen-usSun, 29 Mar 2015 06:00:00 -0700Strictly Business: Vancouver vibe lacks, as many in tech see it
http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/mar/29/vancouver-vibe-lacks-as-many-in-tech-see-it/When high-end digital pen maker Wacom sprung the news this month that it would bail from Vancouver for a glitzier corporate address in Portland's Pearl District, company spokesman Doug Little acknowledged the move would be a loss to Vancouver and its technology business sector. Gordon OliverSun, 29 Mar 2015 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/mar/29/vancouver-vibe-lacks-as-many-in-tech-see-it/Strictly Business: Will jobs fall into tech gap?
http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/mar/22/strictly-business-will-jobs-fall-into-tech-gap/I'm stuck. Stuck between two schools of thought about the inexorable shift toward higher levels of technology, toward the further distillation of automatic, mobile, social, virtual — everywhere, at all times.Aaron CorvinSun, 22 Mar 2015 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/mar/22/strictly-business-will-jobs-fall-into-tech-gap/Strictly Business: Shipper's departure bad for all
http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/feb/15/shippers-departure-bad-for-all-hanjin/Mercifully, the Port of Vancouver has been on the sidelines in the battle between West Coast port operators and the Longshore union that has turned increasingly nasty in recent weeks. The port's union dockworkers, having endured an 18-month lockout at the United Grain Terminal before reaching a contract deal in August, aren't in this fight affecting their union siblings at container-handling ports. Surely they're relieved that it's somebody else's turn on the front lines.Gordon OliverSun, 15 Feb 2015 06:00:00 -0800http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/feb/15/shippers-departure-bad-for-all-hanjin/Strictly Business: Would a corporate airport fly?
http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/feb/01/would-a-corporate-airport-fly/Ken Fisher, the billionaire Camas investment manager, has brought more jobs to Clark County in the past decade than anyone else. With more than 900 employees settled into a sparkling new office campus in Camas, Fisher carries some weight when he talks about what it might take to draw corporate bigwigs to a county that is often overlooked by the big guys. Gordon OliverSun, 01 Feb 2015 06:00:00 -0800http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/feb/01/would-a-corporate-airport-fly/Strictly Business: Tanzania trip shows disparity
http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/jan/04/tanzania-trip-shows-disparity/Few life experiences can match the wonder of visiting some of the world's greatest nature preserves, including the Serengeti National Park, in the equatorial eastern African country of Tanzania. My wife and I indulged in that great adventure on a photo safari through three of Tanzania's wondrous wildlife parks, reveling in close-up sightings of lounging lions, elephants wandering in our path, and partially submerged hippos whose backs double as perches for birds. I'll always treasure those six days staring out the pop-top of a Toyota Land Cruiser, observing and photographing this masterstroke of nature.Gordon OliverSun, 04 Jan 2015 06:00:00 -0800http://www.columbian.com/news/2015/jan/04/tanzania-trip-shows-disparity/Strictly Business: Experts on menu at forecast breakfast
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/dec/07/experts-menu-forecast-breakfast/If you really want to hear from the experts on our local Clark County economy, talk to the experts — the people working every day to provide jobs in our community.Gordon OliverSun, 07 Dec 2014 06:00:00 -0800http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/dec/07/experts-menu-forecast-breakfast/Strictly Business: Driving on with new technology
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/nov/16/driving-on-with-new-technology/Ready or not, we're approaching the day when we'll hand control of our cars over to computers.Gordon OliverSun, 16 Nov 2014 06:00:00 -0800http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/nov/16/driving-on-with-new-technology/Strictly Business: Downside for falling gas prices?
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/nov/02/downside-for-falling-gas-prices/We love those lower gas prices, right? We drive away from the pump with a few more dollars for groceries, movies, maybe even our savings accounts to backstop our flat wages.Gordon OliverSun, 02 Nov 2014 06:00:00 -0800http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/nov/02/downside-for-falling-gas-prices/Strictly Business: 'Earning' a place in the media
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/oct/19/earning-a-place-in-the-media/I was the only man in the room last Wednesday at the monthly meeting of the Women Entrepreneurs Organization of Clark County. I had no complaints, but I had to wonder what advice about the news business I could offer these hardworking women whose business ventures ranged from tattoo artist to real estate broker.Gordon OliverSun, 19 Oct 2014 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/oct/19/earning-a-place-in-the-media/Strictly Business: Business e-newsletter set to evolve
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/sep/21/business-e-newsletter-set-to-evolve/How do your find the news that interests you?Gordon OliverSun, 21 Sep 2014 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/sep/21/business-e-newsletter-set-to-evolve/Strictly Business: Oil terminal fight gets a new player
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/sep/07/oil-terminal-fight-gets-a-new-player/Add yet another player to the multifaceted battle over whether Vancouver will make room for the Northwest's largest oil transfer terminal: Heartland LLC, a Seattle-based real estate advisory and investment firm.Aaron CorvinSun, 07 Sep 2014 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/sep/07/oil-terminal-fight-gets-a-new-player/Strictly Business: Visionary Fred Meyer
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/aug/17/visionary-fred-meyer/As a teenager, Fred Grubmeyer decided to explore life beyond Brooklyn and headed west. He briefly tried his hand at gold mining in Alaska but realized his small miner's shovel was no match for the mountain in front of him. The young man found his way to Portland, shortened his name to Meyer and over decades built a chain of shopping centers that made him a local household name.Gordon OliverSun, 17 Aug 2014 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/aug/17/visionary-fred-meyer/Strictly Business: Legal pot industry sure to be robust
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/jul/13/legal-pot-industry-sure-to-be-robust/It's rare when any business in Clark County attracts national or even regional interest, so the media throng that greeted last Wednesday's opening of Main Street Marijuana was quite a curiosity. Gordon OliverSun, 13 Jul 2014 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/jul/13/legal-pot-industry-sure-to-be-robust/Strictly Business: Balancing profit and innovation
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/jun/22/profit-vs-innovation-hurt-health/The intersection between the bright promise of medical breakthroughs and the cruel undertow of marketplace realities has never been easy to navigate. As brilliant minds work to find cures to the many pains and diseases that ail us, equally sharp minds look to commercialize those cures so their creators and financiers can profit from saving lives and improving health.Gordon OliverSun, 22 Jun 2014 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/jun/22/profit-vs-innovation-hurt-health/Strictly Business: Sharing baseball, business
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/jun/15/sharing-baseball-business/When I think about my dad, I think about baseball and business.Aaron CorvinSun, 15 Jun 2014 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/jun/15/sharing-baseball-business/Strictly Business: National chain with local input
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/jun/08/national-chain-with-local-input/Walk into the brightly-lit, spacious Parkrose Hardware store in east Vancouver, and you'll almost certainly be greeted by one or more employees offering help you find something. These are people who know their merchandise, from the small fasteners that are nowhere else to be found locally to the big power tools suitable for a construction site.Gordon OliverSun, 08 Jun 2014 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/jun/08/national-chain-with-local-input/Strictly Business: A chance for creative solutions
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/jun/01/a-chance-for-creative-solutions/It's no stuffy document.Aaron CorvinSun, 01 Jun 2014 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/jun/01/a-chance-for-creative-solutions/Strictly Business: Protect jewel that is Mount St. Helens
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/may/18/protect-jewel-that-is-mount-st-helens/Thirty-four years ago today, the top blew off Mount St. Helens, destroying life, property, and memories.Gordon OliverSun, 18 May 2014 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/may/18/protect-jewel-that-is-mount-st-helens/Strictly Business: Marijuana debate far from over
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/may/11/marijuana-debate-far-from-over/It seems like every day brings a new surprise in the awkward transition of marijuana from outlaw status to social acceptance. In the blending between those ready to seize a rare entrepreneurial moment and those whose job is to regulate and tax a product that’s still illegal in 48 states, it’s been tough to select the most discordant set of circumstances.Gordon OliverSun, 11 May 2014 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/may/11/marijuana-debate-far-from-over/Strictly Business: Identifying a new way forward
http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/may/04/identifying-a-new-way-forward/John McKibbin helped launch Identity Clark County as a community leader two decades ago, and he's remained interested and active. A former schoolteacher who's served both as a state representative and a Clark County commissioner, McKibbin now returns to center stage as Identity Clark County's executive director. In that role, he's on a mission to help Clark County move past the bridge-induced pain of recent years to move its economy forward.Gordon OliverSun, 04 May 2014 06:00:00 -0700http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/may/04/identifying-a-new-way-forward/